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TV Political Pundit Talks Landing In Twitter Hot Water

Roland Martin is a veteran of political pundit TV. He’s currently an outspoken political commentator on CNN, and works on the Tom Joyner Morning Show and Washington Watch on TV One. But despite his mainstream media leanings, he’s also pretty big on Twitter – and he’s realized that 140-characters can pack quite a punch.

Here’s Martin’s thoughts on a recent Twitter controversy between himself and Touré over the NBA playoffs:

“What always cracks me up is when people want to come at you and give you attitude, and, when you return it, they want to get all sensitive about it. It’s sort of like when someone calls you on a radio show and they want to criticize you; then, you hit them back and they get all sensitive. My whole deal is, “Why did you pick up the phone and call?” The way I look at it is some people can’t handle the heat. My deal is stay off Twitter or don’t respond to somebody.”

Martin goes on to explain how it’s still a valuable resource for stories and information, despite the personal conflicts that can arise from using it.

In the full interview with Mediabistro’s Marcus Vanderberg, Martin talks being suspended from CNN over a tweet, sensitivity in the digital world, and minorities in the news.